SANTA CLARA, Calif. - No. 17 Santa Clara men's water polo gave a great effort against the 16th-ranked Lancers of Cal Baptist, erasing a late 8-6 deficit in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell in a 9-6 final on Thursday at the Sullivan Aquatic Center. 

Down 8-6 with just over two minutes to play, Santa Clara's offense found some life as Ford Eldredge buried a shot to make it a one-goal game. After forcing a Lancer turnover on the ensuing possession, the Broncos tied things up at 8-8 on a Dominick Kirk goal with just 1:48 on the clock. After back-and-forth empty-handed possesions, Cal Baptist broke the tie with just 22 seconds on the clock. Santa Clara had one final look at a potential equalizing score in the final seconds, but Zach Fales' shot hit the post just as the final buzzer sounded. 

With the loss, the Broncos drop to 6-9, 1-3 WWPA while Cal Baptist improved to 18-9, 3-2.

Kirk led all players with a hat trick of three goals and also came away with a pair of steals. Eldredge finished with a pair of goals and Fales was the team leader with two assists. Chase Zamborelli played all 32 minutes in the goal, finishing with 14 blocks, one steal and an assist. 

Santa Clara will be right back in the pool tomorrow in their first of four games of the 2022 Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament. For more information of the tournament, check out our tournament central.